For the first time, bracelets in the form of jewelry appeared in the Paleolithic era. The temptation of this accessory was explained by the material of manufacture. It could be wood, leather, stone, copper, gold. Excavations of Ancient Egypt showed that the remains of the titled pharaohs were full of ornaments, among which bracelets made of pure gold occupied not the last place.
Bracelets in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire
In fact, bracelets are jewelry first worn on strong men's forearms. They were revered in ancient Greece and in other countries.
Later, Athenian beauties adopted from the strong half the idea of decorating their hands with precious metal. Interestingly, the Romans - both men and women - wore bracelets exclusively out of vanity. Among other things, this piquant decoration carried a certain function. For our ancestors, a bracelet was an indicator of status, which at the same time set off the beauty of graceful hands. The more expensive and exquisite the accessory, the higher up the social ladder stood its owner.
The relentless interest in bracelets in ancient times was due to the fact that they were often engraved. The lovers of the Roman Empire, having written their name or declaration of love on the thing, gave it to their beloved before going into battle.
Renaissance
However, the interest in these jewelry almost died out in the Middle Ages, when austerity and long sleeves became fashionable. They remembered about them only in the Renaissance. Translated from French, the name of the accessory means "wrist". For French fashionistas, a bracelet is a simple piece of jewelry that has turned into a luxury item. Jewelers made an accessory from gold, and pearls were inserted on the sides.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, bracelets began to be decorated with various precious and semiprecious stones: coral, diamonds and woven gold ribbons.
Kuprin's story
From school literature, Kuprin’s touching story “Pomegranate Bracelet”, which tells about the pure, tragic love of an ordinary official Georgy Zheltkov to a lady whom he once saw in a box and unrequitedly fell in love with his whole life, will surely be remembered by many.
Vera Nikolaevna Sheina (that was the name of the princess) is the subject of Zheltkov's love. For several years, she received love messages from a person who wants to remain anonymous on her own name day. The husband of the princess and all those around knew about this.
Kuprin, the last romantic of the nineteenth century, devoted his story “Garnet Bracelet” to love. A rare selfless love for a woman. For her, Zheltkov is ready to give his life. And when Vera Nikolaevna inadvertently declares that she would have lived easier if the fan did not exist, Georgy Zheltkov decides to commit suicide - an unheard-of act for a believer.
But this death is considered not as a hopeless outcome of events, but as a heroic act, on which not everyone can decide, even for the well-being of one's neighbor. In parting, Georgy Zheltkov gives his beloved a bracelet made of inexpensive gold and decorated with five large cabochon grenades that surrounded one stone of a rare type of green garnet.
The garnet bracelet in Kuprin's story can be identified with a rare, unique and beautiful love, which was lost in a cheap frame.
Modern accessories
Now the bracelet is a favorite accessory of the masses. At the beginning of the twentieth century, this jewelry became more popular than medallions and various pins. They depicted bracelets in the form of snakes, scorpions, beetles or made them in the antique style.
Most likely, many people remember the scene from the movie “The meeting place cannot be changed”, where actress Larisa Udovichenko played the swindler Manka-Bond in an incomparable fashion, on whose arm was worn an original bracelet in the form of a snake.
Modern fashionistas wear similar accessories with any clothes, regardless of style. Bracelets are made (photo attached in the article) from silver, from gold with inserts from both precious and simple stones, shells, and beads. The main component of fashion today is exclusively only their own desire to wear what you want.
Oddly enough, but today bracelets are not only an ornament. Many weather-dependent people wear copper accessories on their wrists to lower their pressure, and the monks living on Mount Athos, the most treasured for the monks, make special bracelets from local plants that look like stone.
There are ardent fans of bracelets, there are their opponents, but in any case, these accessories emphasize the individuality of the owners.